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Clothing in the middle ages essay
History influences on fashion
Essays on the history of fashion
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The Fashion of the Middle Ages
Mia Bonfiglio
Have you ever asked yourself, “How did people from the middle ages dress?” Well, I’m going to tell you. Peasants were poor so their clothing was torn and was not decorative. Knights wore clothes a bit nicer but not as ornate as nobility. Kings, queens, and nobility dressed in exquisite clothing that was decorated and layered. Fashion is significant to the Middle Ages because it identified the social classes.
Peasants were poor so their clothing was torn and was not decorative. The peasant men dressed in split hose made of wool. Split hose is two separate pant legs that can be rolled up or down when needed. The shirt worn is a linen shirt under a woolen jacket usually lined with linen. When working in the fields, peasants may wear hats to protect their heads from the sun. Straw hats and felt hats are worn along with leather working boots (Langley 8-11). Women wove fabrics that were used to make clothes. A typical outfit that a peasant woman would wear would consist on a long dress and wool stockings (Peasants Western Reserve...
Clothing is a necessity that is need throughout life for protection and comfort, especially in a lifestyle that leads one to have direct contact with the outside environment and a life in the fields. With the low income that a sharecropper and his family had to work with, being fashionable was not one of their top priorities. Even having sufficient clothing at all was a struggle for the family. The clothing that they did have was “coarse, crude, and not warm enough” (Gentry 138). The typical attire for men was “denim overalls”, and...
During the eighteenth century, French culture promoted styles and trends that furthered the gender roles of Parisians. The gowns worn in European countries, particularly France featured elaborate clothing designs, influenced by the Rococo artistic trends of the period. French style incorporated colorful decorations into their intricate court dresses. These dresses were even worn by iconic fashion figures such as Marie Antoinette. The formal dress specifically demonstrates the luxury and status of the upper class, but more importantly the strict guidelines that young women had to abide by. This dress in particular and many alike were used as a tool of oppression during the eighteenth century to hinder women from pursuing male dominated roles
Young single women often wore their hair loose, but once married almost all medieval women wore a linen wimple (wrapup) to cover the hair. This was a sign of modesty. Other items worn by medieval women included hair pins, prayer beads, leather purses, woolen knee stockings, and leather shoes (Hull).
Clothing for both men and women initially was deerskin for shirts and skirts. The men later wore cotton or velvet shirts with no collars, breeches below the knee, and moccasins. Women gradually wore the "squaw dress", made of plain dark blankets.
WAS THE TIME PERIOD BETWEEN 400 AD AND 1400 AD A “DARK AGE” FOR EUROPE?
In Sarah J. Maas’ book, A Court of Thorns and Roses, the characters exist in a fantasy world. This world cannot then be placed in a specific time period. However, the setting can be related strongly to medieval European times due to the: styles of clothing, housing, technological level, and culture. The style of clothing is one of the subtlest hints of the time period. Maas describes the servants as wearing ‘homespun brown aprons,’ and the main character’s outfit as a dressing gown, with “the finest silk, edged with lace- simple and exquisite enough that I ran my finger along the lapels” (Maas 55). The opulent clothing relates to the life of a wealthy medieval European. The house of Feyre, the central figure in the story, is similar to the life of a medieval peasant. “The stone houses of the village were ordinary and dull, made grimmer by the bleakness of winter” (Maas 21). These simply built houses also reveal a low technological level within the novel. There appears to be no electricity even in manors, and Feyre takes a journey on a carriage. “... their brows rising at the gilded carriage” (Maas 252). These are minor correlations, however, to the similar cultures of medieval Europe and the setting of the novel. A major piece of evidence linking the two worlds is the
Have you ever wondered what people in the Elizabethan Era wore? Fashion was just as important in those days as it is to some people today. What people were wearing mattered to others, and even the government. During the Elizabethan Era clothing, accessories, and cosmetics were all a part of daily life.
Medieval Food Food is something that all people have always and will always need to consume in order to survive and thrive. Not only this, but it is also has an important societal function. Food is an important part of celebrations and sometimes dictates roles in societies. In Medieval society food was important for banquets, what was eaten by a person could denote what class a person was from, and was often mentioned in the literature. For my project I presented desserts, bread, and a couple of drinks.
Each different aspect of the code of chivalry held a separate role in society. Whether it be religious or barbaric, chivalry tended to hold a moral guideline among those who followed it. This moral guideline held them true to their duties to man, God, and women (Sex, Society, and Medieval Women). All of which are reflected in the three themes of Chivalry: Warrior chivalry, religious chivalry, and courtly love chivalry (Sex, Society, and Medieval Women). These three hold their individual roles, all stimulating a different part of the mind and creating a code held by all areas of life in those who hold it. The underlying question posed in this intense pledge is whether those who took the oath lived it out accordingly. To live out Chivalry is to go against the logic of the human mind. That is a hard task. Canterbury Tales provides one example of a man fighting against the odds. The kenight portrayed in the story can be compared to that of the quarterback of a football team. That knight truly took the leadership of his role and lived out all of its responsibilities. On the other hand, in midst of the popularity, a large majority of knights truly embraced only certain aspects of the pledge of Chivalry. They used their title and their pledge to court women and gain an upper hand on everyone else around them. The corrupt behavior of these knights is why the general consensus of a knight’s success in following the pledge of Chivalry is failure. The mind of a man still finds its origin in the Social Darwinism concept of a man’s mind. This idea plays the leading role in the failure of knights in the medieval period to live out their oath of Chivalry in every aspect of this oath.
In Shakespeare’s play the attire that Hamlet wears are likely from the 16th century. The clothes can be described as Elizabethan. Hamlet would most likely be seen in hosen. Hosen is a 16th century term for tights or hose. Men would also wear round hose. Round hose are pants cut above the knee. The hose is puffy or round, making the hip and thighs look full. Nobles would also be seen sporting doublets. This fashionable piece of garment is a tight fitting vest that laces up. On top of doublets noblemen, princes in Hamlet's ’case would wear a gown. The gown for a man is like a doublet; it just adds an extra layer. For an added piece Hamlet could wear a ruff. Ruffs are pleated white collars worn under their tops. Hamlet’s clothing in Shakespeare's version sets up his character. The moment hamlet enters the audience knows who he is. His apparel speaks for him. Unlike in Almereyda’s Hamlet where Hamlet could be anyone of the characters.
The clothing of the Middle Ages, like everything else was decided by the pyramid of power. The pyramid of power was the Middle Ages Feudal System. Medieval clothes provided information about the rank of the person wearing them. From the 11th through the 14th centuries, medieval clothing assorted according to the social standing of the people. The clothing worn by nobility and upper classes was clearly different than that of the lower class. Medieval clothes provided information about the status of the person wearing them. The clothing and fashion during the medieval era of the Middle Ages was conquered and highly influenced by the Kings and Queens of the era. Only the wealthy could dress in fashionable clothes.
Many people would not believe that there are so many similarities between modern day fashion and the fashion of the renaissance time period. Many differences may be seen between the two, but the similarities are remarkable. Throughout all of time, clothing has been the major representation of social classes. What people wear has always been the distinguishing factor between the wealthy and the poor classes of both the renaissance and current time period. The evolution from time period to time period has been vast, but the fact that what people wear represents what class they reside in is still very prevalent. From the fabrics, jewels, and accessories, you can still see many similarities from the renaissance time period to the current time period. “…much of what we know about historical dress comes from the apparel of the elite.” (Sauro) Although much time has progressed, fashion from the renaissance period has held a strong influence on the fashion in today’s society.
Everyone in the age would always wear extremely modest clothing. The common garment for a man was the robe gathered at the waist, completed by hose and soft sandals. The same was for the woman, except their dress extended to the feet. The most common materials used to make clothing were linen and woolens, though...
The clothing was definitely not based on today’s modern fashion, but more of the era of vests, shiny armor, bonnets, long layered skirts for women, and trousers for men. This type of clothing was more for man. The beginning of the film focused on a fishing village and because the village is surrounded by water, there must be an increase of humidity, and mist. The clothing looked slightly wet and the colors were earth tones and dark. The people were poor and fish looked like their main source of food. They traveled by water. The costume designers of this film had to produce this effect. In order for the film to be realistic then the clothes would be tattered, well-worn, perhaps even smelly like fish. The purpose of these clothes is to help the actors to tell the story, the story of a poor villager in a home built above water, with little to no pay, hungry, and tired of life. This type of clothing was meant for this particular village and type of people. As for the woodland elves. Throughout all of the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” series, it looks like the elves were prideful people. Refinement, organized, not wasteful, trying to have the best of the best, and yet govern other people in the world. Their clothes were rarely ever presented dirty or torn, unless on the bloody battle field. They had clothing that would be neatly woven, clean, designed, and easy to move in. Their costumes were delicate looking but forged to be the strongest
Introduction Historically, multiple styles of dressing have been created during the last several decades, which played an important role in modern fashion in the UK. Everyone has a different and unique dressing style in their everyday life. Some styles are influenced by vintage styles which are attributing to the deep effects of old vogue, and another group of dressing styles are inclined into the fresh element. Despite those different styles, some of them have even evolved into the milestones in fashion history. To start this essay, it will introduce the evaluation of the first significant revolution of dressing style in the 1960s.